Three First-Round Picks, One Big Night for the Penguins

At the start of this week, the Penguins had one first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. They acquired a second one on Wednesday, and finished Friday with three for the first time since 1984: forwards Ben Kindel, Bill Zonnon, and Will Horcoff.

“For us to come out of the first round with the three players that we did – I think they’re all very different player types – we’re extremely excited,” said Penguins President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas.

“You’re trying to find that balance between having a lot and having quality... and we have to deliver. We believe that all three are going to be very high-quality players in the NHL. So, we're excited about that, excited to get to work with them.”

Dubas had a busy night in the Draft Room presented by Lenovo making these selections come together. With Pittsburgh initially set to pick 11^th and 12^th, Dubas said the Penguins tried to package the picks to trade into the top-10.

“As you saw, nobody moved out of the top 10,” Dubas said. “With a number of teams that seemed open to it, we put in front of them a number of options in the event they got to the pick and wanted to move down. And none of that came to fruition. That’s sometimes just the way it goes. Oftentimes, you look back and are thankful that you held. We look forward to working with the three now, for sure.”

Pittsburgh ended up taking Kindel with the 11^th pick before sending the 12^th pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the 22^nd and 31^st overall selections, so that they could add two more talented players rated highly on their board.

Then, after drafting Zonnon at No. 22, the Penguins flipped the 31st and 59th overall picks to Los Angeles in exchange for No. 24, taking Horcoff.

“Without picking until 59 (Saturday), and then once we saw what way it was going, I thought we had very little chance that we were going to somebody that we really had rated high at 59,” Dubas said. “So, what we did was select Bill there. And we just felt like if we didn’t move up and get Will Horcoff, we were going to be reaching a little bit at the pick later.

“It was just a quality of player thing and where they came out on our board and how they graded out for us.”

Here’s a closer look at each of the three new additions to the Penguins organization.

Ben Kindel, No. 11 overall

The forward’s profile in the Elite Prospects Draft Guide has a fantastic opening line:

“Benjamin Kindel can’t stop scoring.”

After putting up 60 points as a Western Hockey League rookie with the Calgary Hitmen, he finished with 99 points last season, recording 35 goals and 64 assists. But while the offense is terrific, Kindel prides himself on his 200-foot game.

“I'd say I'm a complete player, great hockey sense,” he said. “Take a lot of pride in my defensive game. Compete hard for pucks and do all the little things.”

Dubas said that from the beginning of the year, Vice President of Player Personnel Wes Clark and the scouts had a lot of belief in Kindel. Even though Kindel is not the biggest guy, they like his combination of production, intelligence, and skill set.

“Where we came to in the last couple of days is that if we passed on him, we had intel that he wasn’t going to go much further beyond [our pick],” Dubas said. “And we just didn’t want to look back on it and say, ‘Geez, why did we pass on this guy that had 99 points and then stepped up his game in the playoffs?’ It has all the makings of one of these prototypical ones that we were going to kick ourselves about. Wes was certain about it for months that Ben should be in that mix and be a great pick.”

Kindel, who is currently listed at 5-10 and 180 pounds, looks up to Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki in that regard, as he's also an undersized player. But of course, the Penguins captain is in that conversation as well.

“Obviously, they have a player such as Sidney Crosby and a lot of other great players that have been here for a long time,” said Kindel, who had Kris and Alex Letang announcing his selection by Pittsburgh.

“But I think like looking up to a guy like Sid for his passion for the game, his loyalty to the Penguins, and his hockey sense and the way he plays the game the right way. So, I really admire all those things about him.”

Bill Zonnon, No. 22 overall

After the Penguins selected the forward out of Rouyn-Noranda, Zonnon told Dubas that his new organization is “going to get everything I’ve got.”

“I’m someone that works hard every single day and always wants to be better... My strengths are just my compete and my versatility. I’m very good offensively but I’m very reliable defensively as well,” Zonnon said.

While his parents are from Togo, Africa, they came to Canada for university, and Bill was born and raised in Quebec. He has the same agent as Kris Letang, who announced Zonnon’s selection alongside son Alex. The two French-Canadians had a great conversation backstage afterward.

“It was incredible being drafted by the Penguins. Obviously, they’re a team that I grew up watching,” said Zonnon, who also liked Montreal.

He played high school hockey in the United States before returning home to play in QMJHL. Zonnon finished 7^th in league scoring this season with 83 points (28G-55A) in his first full season down the middle.

“He really thrived when he moved to center, was excellent at center, plays in all situations, plays against the other team’s best players... and as the year went on, just a level of competitiveness, especially in the playoffs for them,” Dubas said. “He was really a driver for his team, and that was, for us, the most exciting part of him. So, the combination of size, competitiveness, the production, and then, stepping his game up as it went along.”

Will Horcoff, No. 24 overall

McKeen’s Hockey feels like the sky is the limit for the towering forward, who measures 6-5 and 203 pounds.

“I think I have a unique skill set and a high ceiling,” Horcoff said. “I think if I'm competitive and work hard I can maximize my potential, and I know I'm going to do that.

“I'm a player who loves to win, and this is a Stanley Cup-winning organization, so I'm super thrilled to be here. Just watching Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel and all those guys in 2016 and 2017, winning back-to-back and seeing how they played, I'm honored to be a part of an organization that has won so many Cups and hopefully, we can win more in the future.”

Will has had an excellent role model throughout his journey in his dad, Shawn, who played over a thousand NHL games and served as captain of the Edmonton Oilers for three seasons. After retiring, Shawn transitioned into player development for the Red Wings, and currently serves as Detroit's assistant GM.

“One thing I always remember is going to their practices and seeing how much extra work they did. My dad would always go to the rink and sometimes he'd be the only one there,” Shawn said. “He'd hop on the ice by himself and go work on his game and then go do mobility and then talk to the chef and work on his nutrition. And he wasn't the only guy, they were all doing that.

“That's one thing I really kept with me and remembered, just how bad they wanted it and how hard they worked, and it really inspired me to model my work ethic after them.”

IShawn played college hockey at Michigan State, where he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the nation’s top player. But Will currently plays at Michigan, their biggest rival. Will said with a smile that while the Spartans have an incredible program, he wanted something different.

“I thought Coach [Brandon Naurato] had a really good development plan for me and believed in me as a player, so ultimately, I went with Michigan,” Shawn said. “I'm happy I did. I thought it was best for my development.”